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Written Question
EU Law
Thursday 27th October 2022

Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to engage with the devolved administrations in relation to (1) the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, and (2) the proposed sunsetting of all remaining EU regulations.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government remains committed to proactively engaging with devolved administrations at official and Ministerial level on the reviews into retained EU law and sunsetting of EU regulations.

To date, there have been regular official level discussions with the devolved administrations and we will continue to engage in areas of interest as the Bill progresses through Parliament.


Written Question
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill
Thursday 27th October 2022

Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure a full consultation with (1) environmental, and (2) public health, organisations before progressing with the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Policy on the environment is owned by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and any decisions regarding retained EU law on the environment are for Defra Ministers to take.

Policy on public health is owned by the Department for Health & Social Care, and any decisions regarding retained EU law on public health are for DHSC Ministers to take.


Written Question
National Security and Investment Bill
Monday 22nd February 2021

Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a planned timetable for the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s decisions on notifications being submitted in the correct form under the mandatory notification procedure proposed in the National Security and Investment Bill; and if so, what that timetable is.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State must decide to accept or reject a mandatory notification as soon as is reasonably practicable. If a notification is accepted, the Secretary of State will be required to issue any call-in notice within 30 working days. If the statutory test is met and the Secretary of State decides to call in an acquisition, they have a further 30 working days to decide whether to impose any final remedies. This is extendable by a further 45 working days, and subsequent to this a mutually agreed voluntary period or periods, if the relevant legal test is met.

A draft notification form was published alongside the introduction of the Bill on 11 November 2020, to help interested parties understand what information is likely to be required for a valid notification.


Written Question
National Security and Investment Bill
Monday 22nd February 2021

Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have defined what asset transactions should be referred to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under the proposed rules in the National Security and Investment Bill; whether they intend to exclude any such transactions from those rules; and if so, which transactions they intend to exclude.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As part of the proposed National Security and Investment regime, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be able to call-in acquisitions of control over qualifying assets to scrutinise them for potential national security concerns. Before any acquisitions can be called-in, the Secretary of State must publish a Statement setting out how they expect to use this call-in power. The Government expects parties will use this Statement to help decide whether to voluntarily notify both entity and asset acquisitions to the Secretary of State.

A draft of the Statement was published alongside the introduction of the Bill on 11 November 2020. It explains that certain areas of the economy are expected to be the areas most likely to give rise to national security risks. That includes acquisitions of control over assets that are integral to the relevant activities of the entities within those sectors.

This will ensure that parties are unable to simply circumvent the regime by acquiring sensitive assets rather than the entities that own these assets. The Secretary of State does, however, expect to intervene in such acquisitions exceedingly rarely.

Clause 11 of the Bill provides the Secretary of State with the power to amend the types of asset acquisitions of control that fall within scope of this regime through secondary legislation. The Secretary of State will keep the functioning of this regime under review and will consider over time whether any further exemptions are appropriate. Any use of this power would be guided by the operation of the regime in practice and any patterns of activity that are observed.


Written Question
Universities: Regulation
Monday 22nd February 2021

Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the regulatory burden on universities when making screening decisions for research funding; and what plans they have to reduce any such burden

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is taking a number of steps to reduce the overall bureaucratic burden on universities in receipt of research funding. The Government will shortly announce an independent review of research bureaucracy. This will build on the initiatives already underway in major public funding organisations.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the largest public funder of research and innovation in the UK. UKRI requires institutions, including universities, applying to its research opportunities to demonstrate compliance against several requirements depending on the type of opportunity and nature of the proposed research. These are:

  1. Research Ethics, Misconduct and Conflicts of Interest
  2. Use of Animals in Research
  3. Health & Safety
  4. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
  5. Safeguarding
  6. Bullying and Harassment
  7. Whistleblowing

In addition, UKRI may also request information concerning the support available for career development and training of staff involved in the proposed research.

UKRI regularly review and improve their processes following ongoing consultation and discussion with applicants to their opportunities and institutions, including universities.

UKRI has recently launched a new programme, Simpler and Better Funding, to review and improve its systems and processes for applicants, institutions and wider stakeholders.

With regard to health and care research funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, the National Institute of Health Research is working to reduce administrative burdens across the health and care research sector in a number of areas - one of these being the funding application process.


Written Question
Research: Foreign Investment in UK
Monday 22nd February 2021

Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce rules to govern screening decisions in relation to foreign investment in research and development based in the UK to ensure that such investment can take place without disruption.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government published advice called Trusted Research in September 2019. This aims to support the integrity of the system of international research collaboration. It outlines potential risks to UK research and innovation. It helps researchers have confidence in international collaboration and make informed decisions around potential risks. It also explains how to protect research and staff from potential theft, misuse of exploitation. The sector is adopting the advice and institutions are changing the ways they make decisions on such investments.